Bringing the world of sustainable technologies to students

Umicore seeks to contribute to the well-being of the communities in which it operates. One of the ways we work to reinforce our link to the communities in which we operate is through educational initiatives. As a technology-oriented business, the next generation of innovators is of particular interest to Umicore. Stimulating scientific interest and challenging young people to think about innovation are important links in building a sustainable future.

 "This package is a win-win situation: teachers are provided with a ready-to-use educational package, a very interesting project for our students that is immediately applicable and Umicore has a great opportunity to get young people involved in science and technology.”- Renilde Nihoul, Thomas More

To help build that important link, Umicore partnered with students from Thomas More, the largest undergraduate applied sciences university in Flanders, to develop a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educational package on sustainable technology, the core of our business. Offering 8 one-hour lessons with experiments, the educational package provides middle and secondary school teachers with tools to introduce their students to the world of sustainable technologies as part of a STEM curriculum.

"Our goal is to get them involved at a young age in technology & science. The youth of today are our future employees and leaders. They are one of the important links in creating a sustainable future.”
Jan Vliegen, site manager Olen

The package includes lesson plans and experiments on batteries, crystals, solar cells, windmills, water purification, recycling and more, to expand students’ substantive and scientific knowledge. The program is designed to develop technical, social and computer science skills and encourage scientific thinking, curiosity, creativity and innovation. A visit to our Umicore site in Olen is built into the program so students can then understand how the learned principles are applied.

 "We will definitely use these great materials! The package fits perfectly in the STEM philosophy with its inquiry-based learning approach; building bridges between education and business is very important and it’s a unique opportunity for our students to visit Umicore.” - Sabine Van Elst, secondary school teacher